PR 1647 
.P5 H6 
Copy 1 



YALE STUDIES IN ENGLISH 
ALBERT S. COOK, Editor 

XXI 
THE 

Elene of Cynewulf 



TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH PROSE 

BY 

LUCIUS HUDSON HOLT 

PORTER FELLOW IN ENGLISH IN YALE UNIVERSITY 



NEW YORK 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
1904 



YALE STUDIES IN ENGLISH 
ALBERT S. COOK, Editor 

XXI 

THE 

Elene of Cynewulf 



TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH PROSE 

BY 

LUCIUS HUDSON HOLT 

PORTER FELLOW IN ENGLISH IN Y^LE UNIVERSITY 



NEW YORK 

HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 

1904 



T M rtt 



L l£>¥0 



<5J 



PREFACE 



This translation was made from the edition of 
the Elene issued by Charles W. Kent in 1889 
(Ginn & Co., Boston). His text is 'that of 
Zupitza's second edition, carefully compared with 
Wulker's edition and Zupitza's third edition, in 
which the results of Napier's collation are con- 
tained.' 

The aim of this translation is to give an accu- 
rate and readable modern English prose rendering 
of the Old English poetry. The translation of 
Richard Francis Weymouth, entitled A Literal 
Translation of Cynewulfs Elene, has been at 
hand, but I owe it practically nothing in this work. 
While I trust that my rendering has not departed 
so far from the text that it will be valueless to 
the student, yet at places it will be found that I 
have to some extent expanded or contracted the 
literal translation in the hope of benefiting the 
modern English version. 

My thanks are due to Dr. Robert K. Root and 
Dr. Chauncey B. Tinker of Yale University, and to 
Dr. Charles H. Whitman of Lehigh University, for 
examining part of the work in manuscript, and to 
Dr. Albert S. Cook of Yale University for a care- 
ful reading of the proof. 

Lucius Hudson Holt. 

New Haven, 

January 1, 1904. 



ELENE 



i. The Emperor Constantine. 

There had passed in the turn of years, as men 
mark the tale of time, two hundred and thirty and 
three winters over the world since' the Lord God, 
the Glory of kings and Light of the faithful, was 
born on earth in human guise; and it was the sixth 5 
year of the reign of Constantine since he was raised 
in the realm of the Romans to lead their army, a 
prince of battles. He was a bulwark to his people, 10 
valiant with the shield, and gracious to his heroes; 
and the prince's realm waxed great beneath the 
heavens. He was a just king, a war-lord of men. 
God strengthened him with majesty and might till 15 
he became a joy to many men throughout the world, 
an avenger for his people when he raised aloft his 
spear against their foes. 



2. The War with the Barbarians. 

And battle was brought on him, the tumult of 
strife. The people of the Huns and famous Goths 20 
gathered a host together; and the Franks and 
Hugas marched forth, men fierce in fight and ripe 
for war. The spears and woven mail-coats glit- 
tered, as with shouts and clash of shields they 
lifted up on high the standard of battle. Openly 2 5 
the fighters gathered all together, and the throng 
marched forth. The wolf in the wood howled his 



6 ELENE. 

war-song, and hid not his secret hopes of carnage; 

30 and at the rear of the foe the dewy-feathered eagle 
shrieked his note on high. 

A mighty host hastened to war through the cities, 
gleaned from all the men the Hunnish king could 
summon from the near-lying towns. A vast army 

35 sallied forth — bands of picked horsemen strength- 
ened the force of the foot-soldiers — until within a 
foreign land upon the bank of the Danube these 
stout-souled brandishers of the spear pitched their 
camp near the water's flow, amid the tumult of the 

40 army. They longed to overrun the realm of the 
Romans, and lay it waste with their hordes. 

Then were the dwellers in the cities aware of the 
Huns' coming. And the emperor straightway bade 
summon with the greatest speed by dispatch of the 
arrow his heroes to war against the foes; bade lead 

45 out to battle the warriors beneath the heavens. 
Their hearts inspired by victory, the Roman heroes 
were soon girt with weapons for the fight, though 
they had a lesser host for battle than circled about 

50 the proud king of the Huns. Then the shields 
rang, the wood of war clashed; the king with the 
host, his army, marched forth to strife, and over 
their heads the raven wailed, dark, and thirsting for 
the slaughter. The army was moving — trumpeters 
leaped, heralds shouted commands, and horses 

55 stamped the earth. Hastily the multitude enranked 
itself for strife. 

But the king was fear-smitten, awed with terror, 
as he looked upon the hostile host, the army of the 
Huns and Goths, that upon the river's bank at the 

60 boundary of the Roman realm was massing its 
strength, an uncounted multitude. The king of the 



ELENE. 



Romans suffered bitter grief of soul, and hoped not 
for his kingdom because of his small host; he had 
too few warriors, trusty thanes, to encounter the 
overmight of brave men in battle. 65 



3. The Dream. 

The army encamped near at hand beside the river, 
nobles about their prince, for the space of a single 
night after they first beheld the course of their foes. 
Then unto the emperor himself in his sleep, as he 7° 
slumbered among his retinue, was disclosed the 
marvel of a dream, shown unto him with soul 
uplifted in the hope of victory. Him thought 
there appeared before him in the form of a man 
a certain warrior, radiant, resplendent, brilliant, 
more glorious than he ever beheld 'neath the 
heavens, before or since. Then, dight with his 75 
boar-crested helmet, he started up from slumber, 
and straightway the messenger, a bright herald of 
glory, spake unto him and called him by his name, 
while the veil of night parted asunder: 'O Con- 
stantine, the King of angels, Wielder of fates and 
Lord of hosts, hath commanded to offer thee a 80 
covenant. Fear thou not, though foreign peoples 
threaten thee with terror and bitter strife. Look 
to heaven, unto the Lord of glory. There shalt 
thou find aid and the token of victory.' 85 

He was soon ready at the holy one's behest; he 
opened wide the secret places of his heart; he gazed 
on high, as the messenger, faithful weaver of peace, 
had bidden him. Over the roof of clouds he saw 
the beauteous tree of glory, gleaming with treas- 
ure and decked with gold — and the gems shone 90 



8 ELENE. 

brightly. The shining tree was inscribed with let- 
ters of brilliance and light: 'By this sign thou 
shalt overcome the foe in the dread peril; by this 
thou shalt stay the hated host.' 
95 Then the light vanished, ascended up on high, 
and together with it the messenger, unto the throng 
of the pure ones. And the king, the leader of men, 
was the blither and the freer from grief in his heart 
by reason of that fair vision. 



4. The Battle. 

Then Constantine, bulwark of heroes and giver 

100 of gifts, battle-prince of armies and glorious king, 
bade fashion with greatest haste a token like unto 
that sign he had seen, which had been disclosed 
before him in the heavens, the cross of Christ. 

105 And at dawn, with the first gleam of day, he bade 
rouse the warriors and make ready for the stress of 
fight, lift up the emblem of battle, take the holy 
tree before them, and bear the sign of God into 
the press of their foes. 

no The trumpets rang loud at the army's front. 
The raven rejoiced at the move; the dewy-feathered 
eagle scanned the march, the strife of battle-heated 
men; and the wolf, fellow of the forest, raised his 
song. Rife was the dread terror of battle. 

Then there was the clash of shields and the shr k 

1 1 5 of men, the bitter hand-to-hand struggle anc" the 
slaughter of hosts, when once they had passed within 
an arrow's flight. On the fated folk dire enemies 
hurled a shower of darts, and with might of arm 
sent their spears, biting battle-adders, over the yel- 

120 low shields into the midst of their foes. But with 



ELENE. 9 

courage undaunted the other host advanced; from 
time to time they surged forward, broke the ram- 
part of shields, thrust their swords between, and 
sternly kept their way. 

Then was the standard, the token, raised before 
the armies, and they chanted the victors' song. 
Over the field of battle gleamed spears and hel- 125 
mets of gold. The pagan host was conquered; in 
merciless strife they fell. As the king of the Ro- 
mans, dauntless in battle, bade raise that holy tree, 
the peoples of the Huns straight fled away, and 
their warriors were scattered far and wide. Some 1 30 
perished in the fight, some saved themselves hardly 
on the march, some, with life half-ebbed, fled to 
fastnesses and nursed their strength behind barren 
rocks, some seized the land near the Danube, and 135 
some were finally drowned in the river's current. 
Then was the army of valiant heroes rejoiced, and 
from break of day until eve they followed hard 
upon the foreign foe, while the spears flew, biting 140 
battle-adders. The horde of hated shield-bearers 
was lessened; but few of the army of Huns re- 
turned thence home again. 

Then was manifest from that day's deed that 
the King Almighty gave unto Constantine victory, 145 
glorious honor, and a realm beneath the heavens, 
through his holy rood. And he, renowned in bat- 
tle, a bulwark of armies, returned thence home 
again when the war was decided, exulting in his 
spoil. Famed in the fight, a defense for heroes, the 150 
king came with a throng of thanes to visit his 
cities and stud his shield with jewels. 



io ELENE. 

5. The Assembly. 
Then the Lord of men straight summoned the 
wisest to council, those who had pondered the craft 

1 5 5 of wisdom in writings of old and held nobly to 
the rede of scholars. And the prince of the people, 
victory-inspired king, asked through the vast assem- 
bly if there were any man there could tell and declare 

160 unto him truly who the god was, giver of good 
gifts, 'whose sign this was which appeared unto 
me so bright, the most gleaming of tokens, saved 
my people, and gave unto me glory and war-speed 

165 against my foes through the holy tree.' 

But no one of them could give him any answer 
in return, nor knew they full well what to say about 
the victor-tree. Then spake the wisest before the 

1 70 multitudes, and said that it was a sign from the King 
of heaven, and of that there could be no doubt. 



6. The Conversion of Constantine. 

But they who had learned the truth, who were 
taught through baptism, were joyful in soul, and 

175 their hearts were light that they might declare be- 
fore the emperor the grace of the gospel: how the 
Saviour of souls, revered in threefold majesty, was 
born ; how God's own Son was hung upon the cross 

1 80 in bitter agony before the multitudes; how He freed 
the children of men and souls of the careworn from 
the snares of devils, and gave unto them grace 
through the very thing that had been disclosed to 
his own sight as a sign of victory against the on- 

185 rush of foes; and how on the third day the Glory 
of men and Lord of all mankind rose from the 
tomb and from death, and ascended into heaven. 



ELENE. 1 1 

Men wise in the mystic things of the Spirit thus said 
unto the victory-inspired monarch as they had 190 
learned from Silvester. And at their hands the 
prince of the people received baptism, and held to 
the faith according to the will of the Lord from that 
time forth throughout the length of his days. 

Then was the giver of gifts content, the king 
stern in battle; a new joy was come into> his heart. 195 
The Lord of the kingdom of heaven was his great- 
est solace and his highest hope. Through the grace 
of the Spirit he began zealously to show forth the 
law of the Lord both day and night, and this ruler 
of men devoted himself, far-famed and weariless, 200 
unto the service of God. Then the prince, bulwark 
of peoples, brave in battle and bold with the spear, 
found in the books of God with the aid of his 
teachers that country where, amid the shouts of mul- 
titudes, the Ruler of the heavens was crucified upon 205 
the cross through sinful hate; even as the ancient 
enemy with lying craft led astray the people, de- 
ceived the race of the Jews, until they crucified God 
himself, the Lord of hosts; wherefore they shall 210 
suffer a direful curse in misery through a long- 
enduring life. 



7. The Journey of Elene. 

Then was the laud of Christ in the heart of the 
emperor, and he was ever mindful of that glorious 
tree. And he bade his mother fare unto the Jews 
upon a journey with a throng of people, and zeal- 2 
ously with her band of heroes to seek where the 
holy tree of glory, the rood of the King, was hid 
beneath the earth. 



1 2 ELENE. 

220 Nor would Elene slight such a journey, nor be 
heedless of the word of the prince her son; but 
the woman was soon ready for the welcome way, 
as the bulwark of heroes and mail-clad warriors 

225 had bidden her. And thereupon throngs of nobles 
made ready for the voyage over the ocean. The 
ships stood ready by the shores of the sea, bound 
ocean-coursers resting on the deep. 

And the journey of the queen was plainly mani- 

230 f est when she sought the swell of the ocean with 
her company; many a noble stood there, near to 
the water's edge, and from time to time crowds of 
men pressed across the way. 

Then they loaded the ships with battle-dress, 

235 shields and spears; mail-clad warriors and men and 
women embarked thereon. And they let the steep 
ocean-speeders course over the foamy deep; often 
the hull bore the shock of the billows on the ocean- 

240 way, and the sea raised her song. Never heard 
I before nor since of woman leading a fairer force 
upon the paths of the ocean, the streams of the deep. 
There one might see, if he beheld that voyage, ships 

245 cleave the watery way and haste beneath swelling 
sails, sea-coursers leap, and wave-floaters speed ahead. 
The proud warriors were glad; the queen rejoiced 
in the journey. 

When the ring-prowed ships had reached their 

250 harbor in the land of the Greeks over the fastness 
of flood, they left their vessels, their olden water- 
homes, lashed by the sea, bound with anchors, to 
await upon the surging deep the fate of the men, 

255 when the warrior queen with her band of heroes 
should again seek the eastern ways. Many a 
woven corselet, trusty sword, and glittering battle- 



• 



ELENE. 1 3 

sark, many a helmet and glorious boar-crest, were 
there to be seen among the warriors. The spear- 260 
men, heroes about their queen, were eager for the 
march. The brave fighters, heralds of the em- 
peror, warriors clad in armor, went forth rejoicing 
into the land of the Greeks. Many a gold-set 
jewel, the gift of their prince, was to be seen there 
among the company. 265 

But the blessed Elene, zealous and earnest of pur- 
pose, was mindful of her lord's will that over fields 
of battle she should seek the land of the Jews with 
her trusty band of shield-bearers, her company of 270 
spearmen; and so it befell within a little space 
thereafter that the multitude of men, heroes famed 
in war and chieftains of spear-renown, entered into 
the city of Jerusalem in a vast throng with the 
noble queen. 275 



8. The Councils of the Jews. 

Then she bade summon the wisest of the dwellers 
in the cities among the Jews, far and wide, each 
man of them, to come unto a council for delibera- 
tion, those who knew how to expound justly and 
fully the hidden things of God. And there was 280 
gathered together from far ways no small multitude 
of those who could expound the law of Moses. 
They were in number three thousand men, chosen 285 
for teaching. 

Then the well-beloved woman spake unto the 
men of the Hebrews in these words : — 'This have I 
learned well by the mystic sayings of prophets in 
the books of God, that in days of yore ye were 290 
dear unto the King of glory, loved of the Lord 



14 ELENE. 

and strong in his service. And lo ! ye of this 
knowledge unwisely and perversely cast Him forth 
when ye cursed Him who thought to loose you from 

295 your curse, your torture of fire, your servile bond- 
age, through the might of His glory. Foully ye 
spat upon the face of Him who by his noble spittle 

300 wrought anew the light of your eyes, the cure of 
your blindness, and saved you oft from the unclean 
spirits of devils. Ye doomed Him to death who 
among a multitude of men roused from death itself 

305 unto their former life a number of your own race. 
Ye blind of soul, thus have ye confounded false 
with sooth, light with darkness, hate with reverence, 
and have woven a crime from your evil thoughts. 
Therefore doth this curse weigh you down in your 

310 sin — ye judged that pure Power, and until this day 
ye have lived with clouded thoughts in heresy. Go 
ye now quickly, and think upon the men most sage 
in wisdom and skilled in speech, who, versed in the 

315 knowledge of your law, hold it foremost in their 
hearts, and who may declare unto me truly and 
devise an answer for each token whereof I may 
ask them.' 

320 Then, sorely grieved and saddened, and burdened 
with fear, the men wise in law went apart, and ear- 
nestly sought the deepest mystic words wherewith 
they might answer the queen whatsoever she asked 

325 of them, whether of good or of bad. And they 
found among their number a thousand of exceeding 
wisdom, who most fully knew the traditions of old 
among the Jews. In a great crowd they hastened 

330 to where, upon a royal throne in majesty, the kins- 
woman of the emperor waited, a stately queen of 
battle adorned with gold. And Elene spake before 



/ 



ELENE. 15 

the folk: — 'Hearken, ye wise of soul, unto a holy 
mystery, the word and the wisdom. Lo ! ye had the 
teaching of prophets how the Prince of life and Lord 335 
of might should be born in the likeness of a child. 
Of him sang Moses, leader of the Israelites, and 
spake this word : — "Unto you is born a child of 
wondrous might in mystery, for his mother con- 340 
ceived him not through the love of man." Of him 
king David, father of Solomon, ruler of men, a 
prophet with the wisdom of age, chanted a psalm 
and spake this word : — "In times afore I beheld the 345 
God of creation, the Lord of victories. He was 
before my sight upon my right hand, the King of 
might and Prince of majesty. Thence will I never 
turn my eyes more unto life." Likewise again 350 
Isaiah the prophet, deeply moved by the Spirit of 
God, spake concerning you before the multitudes in 
these words : "I raised up sons and I begat children, 
and unto them I gave possessions, and holy balm 
for their souls; but they scorned me, loathed me 355 
with their hate, and they had no forethought, no 
skill of wisdom. Even the wretched oxen, which 
man doth each day drive and beat, know their well- 
wisher, and in their revenge for wrong hate not 
their friend who giveth them fodder. But never 360 
would the men of the Israelites take knowledge of 
me, though I wrought many wonders for them 
throughout my life in the world." Lo! this have 
we learned in holy books, that God the Creator 
gave unto you spotless glory and wealth of power, 365 
and said unto> Moses how ye should hearken unto 
the King of heaven, and follow His teaching. But 
ye soon became weary of this, and withstood that 
righteous one; ye scorned the pure Maker of all, 



1 6 ELENE. 

370 the Lord of lords, and pursued error against the 
law of God. Now go ye quickly and find once 
more those who know best by wisdom's craft the 

375 ancient scriptures, your righteous law, that with 
depth of soul they may give me answer.' 

Then a throng of the proud leaders, saddened in 
heart, went forth as the queen had bidden them, 
and found five hundred wise men of their own race 

380 who held learning in their memory, most wisdom 
in their mind. And again within a little space the 
lords of the city were summoned unto the hall. And 

385 the queen, looking upon them all, spake unto them 
in these words : — 'Oft have ye wrought foolish 
deeds, ye wretched in misfortune, and scorned the 
Scriptures, the lore of your fathers, but never worse 
than now when ye have refused the cure of your 

390 blindness, and withstood the truth and the right — 
that the Son of the Mighty One, the only-begotten 
Ruler and King of kings, was born in Bethlehem. 
Though ye knew the law, the words of the prophets, 
yet because of your sin ye have not been willing to 

395 confess the truth.' 

And with one accord they answered: — 'Lo! we 
have learned the Hebrew law that from the ark 
of God our fathers knew in days of yore; but we 
know not in sooth wherefore, O lady, thou hast 

400 become thus angry with us. We know not the sin 
that we have wrought in this province, the wrong 
we have ever done to thee.' 

Then Elene spake before the people openly, before 

4°5 the multitudes this woman spake aloud : — 'Go ye 
now quickly, and seek far and near those who have 
the power of wisdom and the most skill of thought 
among you, that they may show forth to me with- 

410 out reserve whatsoever I ask of them.' 



II 



ELENE. 17 

And they went forth from the council as the 
mighty queen, strong in her cities, had bidden them, 
and earnestly pondered, sad of heart, and sought 
shrewdly what that sin might be that they had4 J 5 
wrought in the province against the emperor, where- 
with the queen reproached them. 



9. The Speech of Judas. 

And there spake before the people one learned in 
ancient writings and wise of speech (his name was 
Judas) : — T know well that she wishes to ask con-4 2 ° 
cerning that victor-tree whereon suffered the Lord 
of hosts, God's own Son, guiltless of all evil, Him 
whom, unspotted with any sin, our fathers in days 42 5 
of yore hung upon the high cross through hate — 
fearful was that thought ! Now is there great need 
that we steadfastly fortify our minds not to betray 
that murder, nor declare where the holy tree was 
hid after the stress of strife, lest thereby the wise 430 
writings of old be cast aside, and the lore of our 
fathers forsaken. For if this shall be known, it will 
not be long that the race of the Israelites and the 
faith of the Jews shall hold sway over the world. 435 
Thus once my father's father, prophet with the wis- 
dom of age and far-famed in victory — his name was 
Zaccheus — gave like counsel unto my father and 
spake this word, which in after times he himself told 
to his son, as he turned him from the world : — "If in 440 
the days of thy life it happen that thou hear sage 
men ask of the holy tree and stir up strife concern- 
ing the rood of victory whereon the true King 
was crucified, Lord of heaven and Child of all 445 
peace, then do thou, my dear son, ere death snatch 



1 8 ELENE. 

thee off, quickly declare that never shall the people 
of the Hebrews, taking- wise counsel together, hold 

45° sway and rule over men, but the glory and kingdom 
shall endure of those who, filled with gladness from 
age to age, revere and love the crucified King." ' 

455 'Then I boldly gave answer unto my father, the 
aged counselor: — "How came it to pass in the 
kingdom of the world that with wrathful intent 
our fathers laid hands on the Holy One to put him 

460 to death, if they had knowledge that he was Christ, 
the King upon the cross, true Son of the Creator, 
and Saviour of souls ?" ' 

'And my parent gave answer unto me, wisely my 
father spake: — "Recognize, O youth, the surpass- 
ing power of God, the name of the Saviour which 

465 may not be expressed by any man. No man on 
earth can search it out. Never would I visit the 
council which this people held, but I ever kept 

470 myself aloof from their sin, nor wrought shame 
unto my soul in any way. Many times I earnestly 
withstood the unrighteous act when the wise men 
sat in council, and sought in their heart how they 

475 might crucify the Son of the Creator, the Bulwark 
of men and Lord of all, of angels and of mortals, 
the most noble of heroes." 

' "But these foolish and wretched men could not 
bring death upon Him as they weened, nor beset Him 
about with agony, though He, the victorious Son of 

480 God, for a little while yielded up His ghost upon 
the cross. Then the King of the heavens, the Glory 
of all glory, was raised from off the rood, and abode 
three nights in the tomb, within the place of dark- 

485 ness; and upon the third day He arose living, Light 
of all light and Lord of angels, and revealed him- 



ELENE. 19 

self unto His followers, the true Prince of victory, 
resplendent in glory. Then after a little space, 
StqDhen, thy brother, received the bath of baptism, 490 
the faith of joy, and for the love of the Lord he 
was stoned. Yet he gave not evil for evil, but in 
patient suffering made intercession for his ancient 
foes, and prayed the King of glory that He would 
not lay to their charge this evil deed, that they 495 
deprived of life a man innocent and free from guile 
through hate and the teachings of Saul. 

' "And this Saul in enmity was dooming many a 
follower of Christ to torture and death, yet the 500 
Lord showed mercy unto him so that he became a 
solace for many men. And in after times the God 
of creation, Redeemer of men, changed his name, 
and he was called Saint Paul, and of the teachers of 505 
the law no one of all those, or man or woman born 
into the world, was ever better than he beneath the 
span of the heavens, even though upon the hill he 
bade crush Stephen, thy brother, with stones. 510 

' "Now thou canst understand, my dear son, how 
merciful is the Lord of all, if we straightway purge 
ourselves of our evil deeds and cease again from 
the unrighteous act, though many times we trans- 5 1 5 
gress against Him, and wound Him with our sins. 
Wherefore I, in sooth, and in after times my dear 
father, believed that the God of all glory, Giver of 
life, suffered bitter agony for the surpassing need 520 
of mankind. And now I counsel thee in secret, my 
dear son, that thou never offer scorn, nor blasphemy, 
nor wrathful opposition to the Son of God. Then 525 
shalt thou deserve that unto thee be granted eternal 
life in heaven, the best reward of victory." ' 



20 ELENE. 

'Thus in days of yore, while I was still a youth, 
my father instructed me, and taught me with these 

5 3o true words, a man wise in sorrow — Simon was his 
name. And now that ye know my heart and mind, 
ye perceive clearly what ye had best declare if the 

535 queen ask us concerning that tree.' 

And the wisest spake together before the assembly 
in these words: — 'Never heard we any other man 

540 save now thee declare thus among this people con- 
cerning such a hidden thing. Act as thou thinkest, 
O thou wise in the lore of old, if thou art ques- 
tioned among the multitude, for there is need of wis- 
dom, of artful words, and the learning of a seer, that 

545 shall give answer to this noble woman before such a 
throng met together.' 

Then words increased : men thought, reflected, 
and pondered on either side, some this way and 
some that. And there came a band of thanes to 

5 50 the assembly; and heralds, messengers of Csesar, 
trumpeted : — 'O ye counselors, the queen doth sum- 
mon you unto the royal hall, that ye may show 
forth rightly the judgments of your synod. Ye 
have need of prudence in the council, of wisdom in 

555 mind.' And they, the leaders of the people, grieved 
in soul, were ready as they were summoned by the 
bitter edict, and went unto the palace to show forth 
the power of craft. 

Then the queen spake unto the Hebrews and asked 

560 them, their hearts sorely burdened, how once the 
prophets, holy men, sang in the world concerning 
the Son of God; and where the Lord suffered, true 
Son of the Creator, for the love of souls. But they 

565 were obdurate and mute as stones, nor would they 
show forth the true secret, nor in the hardness oi 



ELENE. 21 

their hearts would they give any answer to what 
she sought of them, but, set in purpose, they with- 
stood each word that she asked, and said that never 57° 
in their lives had they heard, before nor since, one 
whit of any such thing. 

Then Elene spake and answered them in anger : — 
'I shall say unto you truly, and never in your life 
will this be false, that if ye who stand before me 575 
persist long in this falsehood with lying craft, ye 
shall be burned upon the hill in the hottest fury of 
fire, and leaping flames shall consume your flesh, so 
that for you this lie shall be changed into utter de- 580 
struction. Nor can ye prove those words which now 
in your guile ye cover up under the cloak of evil. 
Ye cannot hide the deed, nor conceal its mystic 
power.' 



10. Elene and Judas. 

Then were they in the fear of death, of the 
funeral-pyre, and the end of life; and there they 585 
thrust forth one of exceeding wisdom in the lore 
of old, whose name was Judas, sprung from noble 
lineage; and they gave him up unto the queen, 
and called him a man of wondrous learning: 'He 
can show forth to thee the truth, unlock the secret 
of the fates, expound the just law from the begin- 590 
ning even to the end, according as thou dost ask 
him. He is of noble race in the world, wise in 
speech, the son of a prophet, outspoken in council. 
And it is his nature to have sage answers and wis- 
dom of soul. He shall show forth to thee before 595 
the multitude with his great power the gift of wis- 
dom, even as thy heart desireth.' 



22 ELENE. 

Then she let each man seek his own home in peace, 

600 and took Judas alone as hostage. And she ear- 
nestly bade him tell the truth concerning the cross, 
which had been long buried in a secret place. Then 
Elene, the glorious queen, drew him aside by him- 

605 self, and thus spake to the lonely man: — 'Two ways 
are ready for thee, either life or death, whichso- 
ever thou shalt please to choose. Declare quickly 
now which one thou wilt accept.' 

And Judas made answer unto her — nor could he 
rid himself of sorrow and turn away the wrath of 

6 1 o his ruler, but he was in the power of the queen — : 
'How shall it be with him who treadeth the moor 
in a desert, weary, without food, and tortured 
with hunger, if before his eyes a loaf and a stone 
together seem hard and soft, and he knoweth them 

6 1 5 not apart, but taketh the stone to ward off his 
hunger, and marketh not the loaf, turneth to want 
and forsaketh the food, refuseth the better when 
he hath the choice of both ?' 

Then openly before the people the blessed Elene 

620 gave him answer: — 'If thou wouldst have thy life 
in the world and a home with the angels in the 
kingdom of heaven, the reward of victory in the 
sky, tell me straightway where the holy rood of 

625 the King of glory lieth under the earth, which ye 
have hid now for a while from men because of the 
unrighteous murder.' 

Judas answered, and his heart was heavy within 
him; there was grief in his soul, and woe either 

630 way, whether thus he forsook the joy of the 
heavenly realm and this present kingdom beneath 
the skies, or disclosed the rood : — 'How can I 
reveal that which came to pass so long ago in the 



ELENE. 23 

course of years ? Two hundred or more in number 
are now vanished away — I know not the sum of 635 
them, and I cannot declare the event. Many of 
wisdom, of virtue, and of learning, who were before 
our time, are told among the dead. In days long 
after was I born, and in my childhood, and in my 
youth. I may not discover in my heart that which 640 
I know not, and which came to pass so long ago.' 

Then Elene bespake him in answer : — 'Whence 
cometh it that ye bear in mind so many things, 
every wondrous deed, such as those which the Tro- 645 
jans wrought in battle? That far-famed war of 
old was further in the course of years than this 
holy event, and yet ye know that fully, how to 
declare at once the number of all that were slain 650 
there, and of the spearmen who fell in death be- 
neath their shields. Ye set forth in writing the 
tombs beneath the rocky cliffs, and likewise the 
places and the tale of years.' 

Then Judas answered — he suffered bitter grief 165 5 
— 'We are mindful of that war from very need, my 
dear lady, and we set forth in writing the fierce 
strife and the deeds of the nations, but never have 
we heard this declared unto men from the mouth 660 
of any save here and now.' 

And the noble queen gave him answer : — 'Too 
mightily dost thou withstand the truth and the right 
concerning the tree of life, insomuch as thou spak- 665 
est verily of the rood of victory before thine own 
people but a little time ago, and now dost turn 
to falsehood.' 

Judas again spake unto her, and said that he 
uttered those words in sorrow and exceeding doubt, 
that he had weened bitter hardship for himself. 



24 ELENE. 

Quickly the kinswoman of Caesar answered him : 

670 — 'Lo! we have heard it declared unto men from 
the holy book that the noble Child of the King, the 
Son of God, was crucified on Calvary. Thou shalt 
reveal thy knowledge perfectly concerning the field 

675 where this place Calvary is, according to the teach- 
ing of the Scriptures, ere death and utter destruction 
snatch thee away for thy sins, that I may thereafter 
cleanse the cross to be a solace for men, according 
to the will of Christ. Thus shall the Holy God, 

680 the Lord Almighty, Glory-giver of hosts and Helper 
of souls, fulfill for me my desire and my inmost 
longing.' 

But with stubborn heart Judas answered her : — 
T know not the place, nor aught of the field, nor 
know I the event.' 

685 Then Elene spake with wrath in her heart: — 'I 
swear by the Son of the Creator, by the crucified 
God, that thou shalt be starved to death before the 
people of thine own race, save thou forsake this 

690 falsehood and fully declare unto me the truth.' 

Then she bade men take him alive, and throw 
him, guilty as he was, into a dried-up well — nor did 
her subjects hesitate. And there, joyless and fam- 
ished, weighed down with chains, was he to abide 
in his grief for the space of seven nights. And 

695 upon the seventh day, weakened by sorrow, weary, 
and without food — his strength was broken — he 
began to call aloud : — T beseech you by the God 

700 of the heavens that ye release me from this misery, 
for I am brought low by the pangs of starvation. 
Joyfully will I show forth the holy tree — no longer 
can I hide it now by reason of my hunger. This 
durance is too fearful, this need too great, and this 



ELENE. 2 5 

torture too bitter day by day. No longer can I 705 
endure to suffer, and conceal my knowledge con- 
cerning the tree of life, though before I was filled 
with folly, and confess the truth too late.' 

11. The Finding of the Crosses. 

When she who there held sway over the heroes 
understood the changed bearing of the man, she 710 
straightway bade release him from his prison, 
his dungeon, his narrow cell. Then quickly they 
did so, and took him out of the pit with care, as 
the queen had bidden them. And they resolutely 7 1 5 
took their way to that place upon the hill where 
the Lord was crucified on the cross, the Son of 
God and Prince of the heavenly realm. Weakened 
by hunger, he knew not yet clearly where through 720 
the wiles of the devil the holy rood lay hid beneath 
the earth, nor where it rested in its tomb, safe in a 
secret place, long hidden from men. 

After a little while he lifted up his voice with 
unwonted power and spake in Hebrew > — 'O Lord 725 
Jesus, thou who dost possess the power of judgment, 
thou who didst form the heaven and the earth and 
the sea, the broad expanse of waters, and all created 
things, by the might of thy glory; thou who didst 
measure out with thine own hands all the sphere of 730 
this earth and of the firmament above; thou who 
dost sit in person, the King of victories, over the 
most glorious angel-kind; thou who in a mantle 
of light dost fare through space in surpassing 
majesty, the nature of man cannot rise in the flesh 735 
from the earth-tainted ways unto the bright throng 
of the pure, the heralds of glory. Thou didst form 



26 ELENE. 

that host, holy and heavenly, and didst ordain it 

740 unto thy service. Six of their number are called 
by name in joy without end, and they are clothed 
about with six wings; they are adorned, and gleam 
brightly. And there are four of their number 

745 ever in flight that perform the service of glory 
before the sight of the eternal Judge, and they con- 
tinually sing in holiness with clear voices the laud 
of the King of heaven, fairest of songs, and they 

750 chant these words in pure tones — their name is 
cherubim : — "Holy is the holy God of the arch- 
angels, the Lord of hosts. Heaven and earth are 
full of His majesty, and all His exceeding might is 
marked with His glory." And there are two among 

755 their number in the heavens, the victorious race, 
whereon man bestoweth the name of seraphim. 
With flaming sword they are to keep sacred the field 
of Paradise and the tree of life. And fast in 
their grasp the drawn sword, sharp of edge, quivers, 

760 trembles, and changes its hue. For thou dost rule, 
O Lord God, eternally, and thou didst hurl thy sin- 
stained foes, the workers of iniquity, from the 
heavens, and the unhappy host fell to the dark 

765 abodes, into the pains of hell. There now they suf- 
fer the agony of death in a sea of fire, encompassed 
about with darkness, in the embrace of the dragon. 
He withstood thy kingly rule, and therefore in 
misery, abhorred, the vilest of the vile, shall he 

770 suffer and endure the servile yoke. He cannot there 
neglect thy commandment; he is fettered in torture, 
bound in agony, the author of all sin. If it be thy 
will, O King of angels, that He who was on the 

775 cross, and was born of Mary into the world in the 
form of a child, the Lord of the heavenly host, shall 



ELENE. 27 

rule — and were He not thy Son, free from guile, 
never could He have wrought such a multitude 
of true miracles day after day in the world; 7%° 
nor wouldst thou, O Lord of the peoples, so glori- 
ously have raised Him from the dead before the 
nations, were He not thy Son in glory by that holy 
maid — then do thou, O Father of angels, now show 
forth thy sign. Even as thou didst hearken unto 785 
the words of that holy seer, Moses, in prayer, when 
thou, O God of power, didst reveal unto the noble 
man in due time the bones of Joseph beneath the 
mountain-side, so would I, O God of hosts, if it be 
thy will, beseech thee in the name of that fair being 790 
that thou, Creator of souls, wilt disclose unto me 
this treasure-house that long has been hidden from 
men. Do thou now, O Prince of life, let rise up 
beneath the span of the heavens from this smil- 795 
ing field a misty smoke. Then shall I trust in thee 
better, and the more firmly establish my soul in 
undoubting joy upon the crucified Christ, that He 
is truly the Saviour of souls, eternal, omnipotent, 
and King of the Israelites, and that He shall rule 800 
for ever in glory without end the everlasting dwell- 
ings in the heavens.' 

Then from that place a mist rose up beneath the 
skies, like unto smoke. Thereupon was the soul 
of the man exalted, and he clapped his hands unto 805 
the heavens, wise and blessed. And Judas spake, 
sage in thought: — 'Now have I truly perceived in 
the hardness of my heart that thou art the Saviour 
of the world. Thanksgiving without end be thine, 810 
O God of might, who sittest in majesty, that unto 
me in my misery and my sin thou dost uncover the 
secrets of the fates by thy glory. Now I would 



28 ELENE. 

pray thee, O Son of God, Giver of gifts to men, 

8 1 5 inasmuch as I know thou art revealed and born the 
Glory of all kings, that thou never more be mindful 
of my guilt, O my Creator, which I have wrought 
not a few times against thee. Let me, O God of 

820 power, dwell with holy joy among the number of 
the kingdom in that fair city where my brother is 
exalted in glory, for he, Stephen, held covenant with 
thee, even though he was stoned. He hath the 

825 reward of the fight, joy unceasing, and the wonders 
that he wrought are set forth in books.' 

Then, glad and zealous, he digged in the earth 
under the sod for the tree of glory until he uncov- 
ered and came upon three crosses together in a 

830 mournful home, hid twenty feet below, concealed 
in their dark grave beneath the steep cliff, and cov- 

835 ered over with sand, even as in days of yore the 
host of the sinful, the race of the Jews, had clothed 
them over with earth. They stirred up hatred 
against the Son of God, as they would not have 
done had they not hearkened to the teachings of 
the prince of evil. 

840 And his soul was gladdened with great joy, and 
his heart strengthened by that holy tree, and his 
spirit exalted within him as he beheld the holy sign 
in the earth. With his hands he seized upon the 
wondrous tree of glory, and in the midst of the 

845 people raised it aloft from its earthy grave. Then 



ELENE. 29 

12. The Miracle of the True Cross. 

Thereupon the glad and zealous man set forth 
the three trees of victory before Elene in open view. 850 
The queen rejoiced in her heart at the deed, and 
asked on which of those trees the Son of the King, 
Giver of joy to men, was crucified: 'Lo! we heard 
it declared from the holy book that two suffered 
with Him, and He Himself was the third on the 855 
cross. All the heavens grew dark in that woful 
hour. Say, if thou knowest, on which of these 
trees the Lord of angels and Prince of glory suf- 
fered.' 

But Judas could not declare unto her fully con- 860 
cerning that tree of victory, on which the Saviour, 
the conquering Son of God, was hung, for he wist 
it not assuredly. Then he bade set the crosses with 
tumult in the midst of the fair city, there to abide 865 
until the King Almighty should show forth a mira- 
cle before the people through that tree of glory. 
With souls uplifted in their victory, they sat them- 
selves down about the rood, and with earnest 
thought raised their voices in song until the ninth 
hour, when they had new joy, gloriously gained. 870 
For many came there, no small multitude, and 
among the press of men close by on a bier they 
brought one who was dead, a young man, lifeless; 
and it was the ninth hour. 

And there was the heart of Judas gladdened with 875 
great joy. He bade them set down upon the earth 
him whose soul had fled, the body forsaken of life, 
the dead man, and he himself, wise and earnest 
revealer of truth, raised up in his arms two of those 880 
crosses over the lifeless frame. But the body, fast 



3° ELENE. 

on its couch, was dead as before. The limbs were 
cold, enwrapped with their dire fate. Then the 

885 third, the holy one, was raised aloft. The body 
waited until the rood, the cross of the King of 
heaven, the true sign of victory, was laid upon the 
man; then he straightway rose up, restored in spirit, 

890 both body and soul together. And there was great 
laud raised among the people; they revered the 
Father, and honored the true Son of the King in 
their speech. To Him be glory and thanksgiving 
without end from all creatures. 



13. Judas and the Devil. 

895 Then, as ever should be, was the miracle which 
the Lord of hosts, Giver of life, had wrought for 
the salvation of mankind, impressed upon the minds 
of the people. But there the fiend, the devil from 

900 hell, dire monster mindful of evil, sinning with his 
lies, rose up into the air, flying, and spake thus : — 
'Lo! what man is this who doth again in the 
ancient enmity destroy my following, swell the 

905 olden hatred, and waste my possessions? Continual 
strife is this. No longer may the souls of them 
that work evil dwell among my possessions, since 
now a stranger hath come, whom I counted fast 

910 in his sins, and hath robbed me of my every right 
and of all my wealth. This is not a just deed. 
The Saviour, who was raised up in Nazareth, hath 
done me many an evil, acts of deep hatred. As he 

915 grew up from childhood, he ever turned to himself 
my possessions, nor now can any justice succeed 
[against him]. His kingdom is broad over the 
world, while my teaching is weakened beneath the 



ELENE. 31 

heavens. I dare not despise this cross with scoffing 
laugh. Lo! the Saviour hath again shut me into 920 
my narrow home, smitten with woe. Once I was 
filled with joy by a Judas: but now, again by a 
Judas, am I humbled, bereft of possessions, ab- 
horred, and friendless. But I know how to discover 92 5 
again by my sin a way of return hereafter from 
the home of the damned. I shall incite against thee 
another king who shall persecute thee, and shall 
forsake thy teaching and follow my ways of 930 
evil; then will he cast thee into the darkest and 
worst of terrors, that thou, racked with pain, mayst 
vehemently renounce the crucified King, whom thou 
didst formerly obey.' 

Then the wise Judas, daring hero in strife, 935 
answered him (the Holy Spirit was granted unto 
him with strength, a love hot as fire, a knowledge 
welling up through the learning of a warrior) ; and 
he spake this word, filled with wisdom: — Thou 
needst not so mightily, ever mindful of evil, renew 940 
sorrow and enkindle strife, O sinful prince of mur- 
der, inasmuch as the mighty King, who hath awak- 
ened with His word many of the dead, doth thrust 
thee into the nether depths, thou worker of iniquity, 945 
into the abyss of torture, bereft of joy. Know thou 
full clearly that thou in folly didst forsake the 
brightest of lights and the love of the Lord and that 
glorious faith, and that thou hast since dwelt in a 95° 
bath of fire, burdened with tortures and seared with 
flame, and that there, with hatred in thy soul, thou 
shalt ever suffer woe and misery without end.' 

Elene heard how the foe and the friend struggled 
together, the glorious and the foul on opposite sides, 955 
the sinful and the blessed. And she was the gladder 



32 ELENE. 

in heart as she heard that the hellish enemy, the 
Prince of evil, was vanquished; she marveled at 
the wisdom of the man, how in so little time 

960 he was so filled with faith, and how he who had 
ever been so ignorant was imbued with knowledge. 
And she thanked God, the King of glory, that 
through the Son of God the joy of both these things 

965 was come unto her — on the one hand at the sight 
of the tree of victory, and on the other at this 
faith which she so clearly understood as a glorious 
gift in the breast of this man. 



14. The Embassy to Constantine. 

Then was the fair news of the morning manifest 
among the nation, spread far throughout the people, 

970 to the vexation of many who would keep secret the 
law of the Lord. It was heralded through the cities, 
as far as the sea embosoms the land, through every 
town, that the rood of Christ, buried of yore in the 
earth, had been found, best emblem of victory of 

975 them that were raised aloft before or since, holy 
beneath the heavens. Unto the Jews, men of mis- 
fortune, it was a most bitter grief and most hated 
of fates that they could change neither it nor the 

980 joy of the Christians in the world. Then the queen 
bade messengers from her noble company make 
them ready with haste, for they were to seek the 
lord of the Romans over the deep sea, and declare 
unto that warrior in person the best of glad tidings — 

985 how the tree of victory, that had been hidden a long 
time before to grieve the holy ones, the Christian 
people, had been discovered and found in the earth 
through the grace of the Creator. 



ELENE. 33 

Then was the soul of the king rejoiced at that 99° 
fair news, and his heart filled with gladness. And 
in the city there was no want of richly-clad ques- 
tioners concerning what was come from afar. The 
greatest comfort in the world, a joyful soul, was 995 
come unto him at those glad tidings which the mes- 
sengers, leaders of the army, brought to him over 
the eastern ways, how the warriors with the glorious 
queen had made a prosperous voyage over the sea 
into the land of the Greeks. The emperor bade 
them prepare themselves again for the journey with 1000 
the greatest haste. The warriors made no delay 
when once they heard the answer, the message of 
the prince. He bade them, heroes hardy of soul, 
give greeting to Elene, renowned in war, if they 
should survive the sea and make a prosperous 1005 
voyage unto the holy city. And Constantine fur- 
thermore bade the messengers charge her to build 
a church there on the mountain-slope for the weal 
of them both, a temple of the Lord on Calvary for 10 10 
the joy of Christ and the solace of men, there 
where the holy rood was found, fairest of all trees 
the dwellers on earth have ever known. 1015 



15. The Building of the Temple. 

And thus she did when her friends brought many 
a kind greeting over the fastness of waters from the 
west. Then the queen bade seek far and near those 
skilled in the arts, the best of those who could work 
most wondrously in the laying of stone upon stone, 
that they might raise a temple of God upon that 
place. As the Lord of spirits counseled her from 
the heavens, she bade deck out the rood with gold 



1020 



LofC. 



34 ELENE. 

1025 and with gems, adorn it most artfully with precious 
stones ; then to seal it with locks in a casket of sil- 
ver. There hath the rood of life, best tree of 
victory, dwelt since then, indestructible in its noble- 

1030 ness. There shall it be ever ready, a solace for 
the ill of any disease, affliction, or sorrow. Then 
straightway shall men find aid and divine grace 
through that holy form. 



16. The Conversion of Judas. 

Then after a little space Judas received the bath 

1035 of baptism, and, cleansed [of his sins], was true to 
Christ, dear to the Lord of life. His faith was 
steadfast in his heart when the Spirit of comfort 
had taken up his dwelling in the breast of the man, 
and had urged him unto repentance. He chose the 

1040 better course, the gladness of glory, and forsook the 
worse, the way of the idolater, and cast aside his 
heresy, the law of unrighteousness. God, the eter- 
nal King, Creator, and Wielder of power, was 
gracious unto him. 

Then he was baptized who many times had 

1045 scorned the light; . . - 1 his heart was inspired 
unto the better life; he was turned unto glory. 
Verily fate decreed that he should become thus filled 
with faith, thus dear unto God and beloved of Christ 

1050 in the kingdom of the world. This was made mani- 
fest when Elene bade bring unto the holy city 
Eusebius, the bishop of Rome, exceeding wise amid 
the councils of men, to aid in her deliberation, and 

1055 to ordain Judas into the priesthood at Jerusalem 
as bishop for the people in the cities, prudently 

1 A manuscript lacuna. 



ELENE. 35 

chosen through the grace of the Spirit for the tem- 
ple of God. And in later times upon a new occa- 
sion she wisely named him Cyriacus. Henceforth 1060 
the name of the man was changed for the better 
throughout the cities — 'The law of the Lord'. 



17. The Finding of the Nails. 

Then again was the mind of Elene concerned 
about that fair mystery with regard to the nails 1065 
which pierced the feet and hands of the Saviour, 
wherewith the King of the heavens, the mighty 
Prince, was bound upon the cross. The queen of 
the Christians began to ask concerning them. She 
bade Cyriacus that he, through the might of the 1070 
Holy Spirit, fulfil her desire still further regarding 
the wondrous mystery, and that he unlock the secret 
by his holy grace. And she spake this word unto 
the bishop — boldly she addressed him : — 'O bulwark 
of heroes, thou didst rightly show forth unto me 1075 
that noble tree, the cross of the heavenly King, 
whereon by heathen hands was crucified God's own 
Son, the Helper of souls, the Saviour of men. Now 
further the longing for knowledge doth make me 
mindful of the nails. I would thou shouldst find 1080 
those that are hidden, buried deep in the earth and 
shrouded in darkness. Ever doth my heart mourn, 
sorrow in sadness, and rest not, until the Father 
Almighty, the Lord of hosts and Saviour of men, 
the Holy One from on high, shall fulfill unto me my 1085 
desire through the finding of these nails. Now 
with all reverence do thou forthwith, O best of 
mediators, send up thy petition unto that glorious 
Being, unto the King of majesty. Do thou pray 1090 



36 ELENE. 

the Glory of men that He, Almighty King, show 

forth unto thee the treasure beneath the earth that 

still lieth hidden, secret and concealed from men/ 

Then the holy man, inspired in heart, the bishop 

:095 of the people, made steadfast his soul, and joyfully 
went forth with a throng of men singing praises 
unto God. Zealously Cyriacus bowed his head upon 
Calvary, nor made he any secret of his thoughts, but 

: ioo through the might of the Holy Spirit he called upon 
God with all reverence, and prayed the Lord of 
angels to reveal the unknown mystery in his new 
trouble, where in that field he might earnestly seek 
out the nails. 

;io5 Then the Father, the Spirit of comfort, there as 
they were watching, caused a sign in the form of 
fire to rise up where the precious nails were cun- 
ningly hid in the earth by the devices of men. 

[i 10 Forthwith there came a leaping flame brighter than 
the sun. The people beheld a miracle shown forth 
unto their queen, where, like unto the stars of heaven 
or gems set in gold, out of the darkness glittered 

i 1 1 5 the nails brightly, gleaming from their burial-place 
beneath the surface of the earth. The people re- 
joiced, the throng were glad of heart; and they said 
with one accord that the miracle was of God, 
although hitherto they had been long in heresy and 
turned from Christ, through the death-wielding 

[ 120 power of the devil. Thus they spake: — 'Now do 
we ourselves behold the sign of victory, the true 
miracle of God, whom we formerly withstood with 
falsehood. Now is the course of the mystery come 
into light and revealed. Wherefore may the God of 



ELENE. 37 

Then was the bishop of the people rejoiced anew, 
he who had turned with repentance through the 
Son of God. Awe-struck he took the nails, and 
bore them unto the revered queen. Cyriacus had 1 1 3° 
fulfilled all the woman's wish, even as his noble 
mistress bade him. Then was there the sound of 
lamentation, and hot tears welling over their faces 
— yet not at all for sorrow; her tears fell over the 
nails. Wondrously was the desire of the queen ful- 1 135 
filled. With joyous faith she laid them upon her 
knees, and, rejoicing in her happiness, revered the 
gift that was brought unto her as a solace for her 
sadness. She gave thanks unto God, the Lord of 
victories, that now she knew the truth which had oft 1 140 
been foretold long before from the beginning of the 
world as a comfort for the nations. She was filled 
with the grace of wisdom, and the Holy Spirit of 1145 
heaven held the dwelling of her body, and guarded 
her both heart and soul. Thus the almighty, vic- 
torious Son of God had care for her thereafter. 



18. Elene's Disposal of the Nails. 

Then she began zealously through the mysteries 
of the Holy Spirit to search out the truth and the 
Avay to glory. Verily the Lord of hosts, King 11 50 
Almighty, gave aid that the queen might win her 
wish in the world. From the beginning all the 
prophecy was chanted in times before by the seers 
of old, and thus it happened in every respect. 1 1 5 5 
Through the grace of the Holy Spirit the queen 
zealously began to search out with great care where- 
for she might best and most fitly for the solace of 
men use the nails, and what was the will of the 1 160 



38 ELENE. 

Lord. Then bade she bring at once nnto a secret 
council an exceeding wise man, who, learned in 
mind, by his wise power knew fully the rede of 

1 165 sages; and she began to inquire of him what he 
deemed best to be done about this. And obediently 
she chose his advice. 

Earnestly he answered her: — 'It is fitting that 
thou hold in thy heart the word of the Lord, 

1 1 70 His holy mystery, O best of queens, and zealously 
fulfil the bidding of the king, now that God, Re- 
deemer of men, hath given unto thee good speed 
for thy soul, and the skill of wisdom. Do thou 

1 175 bid that these nails be set upon the bridle, as a bit 
for the horse of the most noble among castle-ruling 
kings. It shall become famed to many throughout 
the world when he shall overcome each of his 
enemies thereby in the contest, as with brave hearts 

1 1 80 and brandished swords they seek the battle on either 
side, and strive for the mastery there, foe against 
foe. He shall have good speed in war, victory in 
battle, and peace everywhere, the calm following the 

1 185 strife, who holds the bridle before him upon a white 
steed when his trusty heroes, far-famed in the fight, 
bear shield and spear into the press of weapons. 
For any man shall this be a guard invincible 
against stress in war. Concerning it sang the 

1 1 90 prophet, wise in thought, his mind saw deeply 
the understanding of wisdom. These words he 
spake : — "It shall be known that the horse of a king 
is to be in the midst of brave heroes, decked with 

1 195 bit and bridle-rings. It shall be called a holy sign 
of God, and he shall be hardy and honored in war 
who guides the horse." ' 



ELENE. 39 



19. Conclusion. 



Then straightway in the presence of the nobles 
Elene accomplished all. She bade deck the bridle 
of the prince, gift-giver of men, and unto her own 
son she sent the glorious present over the stream I20 ° 
of the ocean as an offering. Then she bade assem- 
ble together in the town, in that holy city, those 
whom she knew as the best among the Jews, that 
race of heroes. And the queen began to teach the I2 °5 
throng of her dear subjects that they should stead- 
fastly hold to the love of the Lord, and maintain 
peace one with another, and that they should hearken 12 10 
unto the lore of the teacher, and the customs of the 
Christians, which Cyriacus, wise in the knowledge 
of books, should declare unto them. The bishop- 
ric was well established. Often there came to 
him from afar the lame, the halt, the weak, the l21 S 
maimed, the bleeding, the leprous, the blind, the 
poor, the sad in heart, and ever found they health 
and relief there at the hands of their bishop during 
all of their life. And again Elene gave unto him 
gifts of great worth when she was ready for the 
journey back to her own land, and when she bade I22 ° 
all those who glorified God in that kingdom, both 
men and women, to honor in their thought with 
heart and strength that great day on which the holy 
rood was found, most wondrous tree of them that I22 5 
have grown up from the earth, laden with leaves. 
And, save for six nights ere the coming of summer 
on the kalends of May, the spring was gone. May 
hell's portal be closed and heaven's opened, may the I2 3° 
eternal kingdom of the angels be revealed with joy 
unceasing, and may their part be assigned with 



4° ELENE. 

Mary, to each man who keepeth in memory the 
1235 most sacred festival of the cross beneath the heavens, 
which the almighty King over all protected with 
his arm ! Finit. 



20. Epilogue. 

Old and ready for death by reason of this fail- 
ing house, I thus have woven a web of words and 
wondrously have gathered it up; time and again 
have I pondered and sifted my thought in the prison 

1240 of the night. I knew not fully the truth concern- 
ing the cross 1 until wisdom revealed a broader 
knowledge through its marvelous power o'er the 
thought of my heart. I was stained with deeds of 

1245 evil, fettered in sins, torn by doubts, girt round with 
bitter needs, until the King of might wondrously 
granted learning unto me as a comfort for my old 
age; until he gave unto me his spotless grace, and 
imbued my heart with it, revealed it as glorious, in 

1250 time broadened it, set free my body, unlocked my 
heart, and loosed the power of song, which joyfully 
and gladly I have used in the world. Not one time 
alone, but often had I thought upon the tree of 
glory, before I had the miracle revealed regarding 

1255 the glorious tree, as in the course of events I found 
related in books and in writings concerning the sign 
of victory. Ever until that time was the man buf- 
feted in the surge of sorrow, was he a weakly flar- 
ing torch (C) 2 , although he had received treasures 

1260 and appled gold in the mead-hall; wroth in heart 

1 Supplying rode. 

5 These letters are the runes which spell out Cynewulf's name. 



I 



ELENE. 



(Y), he mourned; a companion to need (N), he 
suffered crushing grief and anxious care, although 
before him his horse (E) measured the miles and 
proudly ran, decked with gold. Hope (W) is 
waned, and joy through the course of years; youth 1265 
is fled, and the pride of old. Once (U) was the 
splendor of youth ( ?) ; now after that alloted time 
are the days departed, are the pleasures of life 
dwindled away, as water (L) glideth, or the rush- 
ing floods. Wealth (F) is but a loan to each be- 1270 
neath the heavens; the beauties of the field vanish 
away beneath the clouds, most like unto the wind 
when it riseth loud before men, roameth amid the 
clouds, courseth along in wrath, and then on a sud- 1275 
den becometh still, close shut in its narrow prison, 
crushed by force. 

Thus shall all this world pass away, and in like 
manner devouring flame shall seize upon who- 
ever was born into it, at that time when the 
Lord himself 'with a host of angels shall come 1280 
unto judgment. There shall each man hear the 
doom on all his deeds from the mouth of the judge, 
and likewise shall pay the penalty for all the 
foolish words ever spoken by him, and all his over- 1285 
bold thoughts. Then shall the people divide into 
three parts for the embrace of the flame, every man 
who hath ever lived throughout the broad earth. 
Those who have clung fast to the truth shall be 
highest in the flame, the throng of the blessed, the 1290 
host of them that yearn for glory, the multitude of 
the righteous, and thus may they endure and suffer 
more lightly without distress. He tempers for 
them all the glare of the flame as shall be most easy 
for them and most mild. The sinful men, those 1295 



42 ELENE. 

stained with evil, heroes sad of heart, shall be in the 
middle place, shrouded with smoke amid the hot 
surge of fire. The third part, accursed sinful foes, 
false haters of men, the host of the wicked, shall be 

1300 in the depth of the surge, bound fast in flame by 
reason of their former deeds, in the gripe of the 
glowing coals. Nor shall they come thereafter 
from the place of punishment to the memory of God, 
King of glory, but they shall be cast forth, His 

1305 wrath-stirring foes, from that fierce flame into the 
depths of hell. Unlike this shall it be with the 
other two parts : they may look upon the Prince of 
angels, the God of victories. They shall be refined 

1 3 10 and freed from their sins, like pure gold that is all 
cleansed from every alloy, refined and melted in the 
surge of the furnace's fire. Thus shall each of those 
men be separated and purified from all their guilt, 
their deep transgressions, by the fire of the judg- 

13 ! 5 ment. And thereafter they may enjoy peace and 
eternal well-being. The Lord of angels shall be 
merciful and gracious unto them, inasmuch as they 
abhorred each sin, each work of guile, and called 
upon the Son of the Creator in their prayers. 
Wherefore now their forms shall shine like unto the 

1320 angels, and they shall enjoy the heritage of the King 
of glory for ever and ever. Amen. 



YALE STUDIES IN ENGLISH. 

Albert S. Cook, Editor. 

I. The Foreign Sources of Modern English Versification. 

Charlton M. Lewis, Ph.D. $0.50. 
II. JEHric: A New Study of his Life and Writings. Caroline 
Louisa White, Ph.D. $1.50. 

III. The Life of St. Cecilia, from MS. Ashmole 43 and M.S. 

Cotton Tiberius E. VII, with Introduction, Variants, and 
Glossary. Bertha Ellen Lovewell, Ph.D. $1.00. 

IV. Dryden's Dramatic Theory and Practice. Margaret Sher- 

wood, Ph.D. $0.50. 
V. Studies in Jonson's Comedy. Elisabeth Woodbridge, Ph.D. 

$1.50. 
VI. A Glossary of the West Saxon Gospels, Latin- West Saxon 
and West Saxon-Latin. Mattie Anstice Harris, Ph.D. 
$1.50. 
VII. Andreas : The Legend of St. Andrew, translated from the 
Old English, with an Introduction. Robert Kilburn 
Root. $0.50. 
VIII. The Classical Mythology of Milton's English Poems. 
Charles Grosvenor Osgood, Ph.D. $1.00. 
IX. A Guide to the Middle English Metrical Romances dealing 
with English and Germanic Legends, and with the Cycles 
of Charlemagne and of Arthur. Anna Hunt Billings, 
Ph.D. $1.50. 
X. The Earliest Lives of Dante, translated from the Italian of 
Giovanni Boccaccio and Lionardo Bruni Aretino. James 
Robinson Smith. $0.75. 
XI. A Study in Epic Development. Irene T. Myers, Ph.D. 

$1.00. 
XII. The Short Story. Henry Seidel Canby. $0.30. 

XIII. King Alfred's Old English Version of St. Augustine's Solilo- 

quies, edited with Introduction, Notes, and Glossary. 
Henry Lee Hargrove, Ph.D. $1.00. 

XIV. The Phonology of the Northumbrian Gloss of St. Matthew. 

Emily Howard Foley, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XV. Essays on the Study and Use of Poetry by Plutarch and 
Basil the Great, translated from the Greek, with an Intro- 
duction. Frederick M. Padelford, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XVI. The Translations of Beowulf: A Critical Bibliography. 

Chauncey B. Tinker, Ph.D. $0.75. 
XVII. The Alchemist, by Ben Jonson: edited with Introduction, 
Notes, and Glossary. Charles M. Hathaway, Jr., Ph.D. 
$2.50. Bound in cloth, $3.00. 
XVIII. The Expression of Purpose in Old English Prose. Hubert 
Gibson Shearin, Ph.D. $1.00. 
XIX. Classical Mythology in Shakespeare. Robert Kilburn Root, 

Ph.D. $1.00. 
XX. The Controversy between the Puritans and the Stage. 
Elbert N. S. Thompson, Ph.D. $2.00. 
XXI. The Elene of Cynewulf : An Old English Poem, translated 
into English Prose. Lucius Hudson Holt. $0.30. 



I 




■LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
Hill 
007 276 720 2 •[ 



